Box spout



April 1960 P. J. SCAGLIONE 2,933,218

BOX SPOUT Filed Jan. 7, 1957 Unite BOX SPOUT Paul J. Scaglione, Royal Oak, Mich. Application January 7, 1957, Serial N 0. 632,867

6 Claims. (Cl. 222-90) This invention relates to box spouts and particularly spouts attachable to boxes formed of cardboard or-the like to afford a convenient and readily controlled discharge of the box contents, and further relates to methods of forming pouring openings in such boxes.

An object of the invention is to provide a spout suited to pierce a wall of a cardboard box and then firmly grip such wall between a pair of legs formed by the spout, while deflecting a portion of such wall outwardly to conform to a pouring angle formed by such legs.

Another object is to effect a tearing of the pierced wall responsive to its engagement by a spout, so that portions of such wall straddled by a pair of legs formed by the spout will be deflected outwardly from the normal plane of such wall.

Another object is to adapt the spout to conceal the edges formed by piercing and tearing of the box wall to which the spout is applied.

Another object is to form a pouring spout from a sheet of material bent through approximately one hundred and eighty degrees to form a pair of substantially parallel inner and outer legs for straddling a box wall, the inner leg being substantially pointed to pierce such wall, both legs being bent lengthwise thereof to adapt them to diverge outwardly from the wall and jointly form a trough for discharging material.

These and various other objects are attained by the construction hereinafter described and illustrated in the accompanying drawing, wherein:

Fig, 1 is a top plan view of the improved spout.

Fig. 2 shows the spout in side elevation.

Fig. 3 is a front or exterior view of the spout.

Fig. 4 is a vertical sectional view taken on the line 4-4 of Fig. 3.

Fig. 5 is a perspective view, showing the spout applied to a box.

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary perspective view of a box as slotted and torn responsive to an application of the spout to such box.

In these views the reference character 1 designates a U bend so transversely formed in an elongated fiat blank of sheet metal or the like, remotely from the blank ends, as to produce two spaced substantially parallel legs 2 and 3, having a juncture at such bend and extending in the same downward direction and diliering materially in length. Said legs jointly form a groove or pocket substantially equal in width to the wall thickness commonly employed for cardboard boxes serving to package bulk material. Along medial lines 4, both legs are bent longitudinally to an approximate trough form preferably of V shape, nesting the longer leg 2 within the shorter one, as best appears in Fig. 1, the resultant angle being preferably ninety degrees. The lateral margins of each leg are downwardly divergent imparting an approximate V form, as best appears in Fig. 3, the resultant angle formed by the longer leg preferably approximating twenty-five degrees. A considerably more obtuse angle,

2,933,218 Patented Apr. 19, 1960 "ice such as sixty degrees, is preferably formed by the margins of the shorter leg. The lower ends of the legs are In applying the spout to a box 7, the prong 5 initially serves to pierce a wall of the box near the upper end of such wall, the spout being for such purpose disposed substantially transversely to such wall with its longer leg uppermost. When the box has been thus pierced, the

spout is swung on the pierced wall as a fulcrum to direct its legs downwardly and is finally subjected to downward pressure. Responsive to such pressure, the spout slides down the pierced wall in a straddling relation thereto, the short horizontal slot 8 initially formed by the prong 5 being thus progressively increased in length. Resistance to downward actuation of the spout is slight due to the considerable length of the inner leg and the acute angle formed by such leg. As the spout thus slides, the legs 2 and 3 acquire a firm grip on thestraddled portion or the wall and produce in such wall a vertical tear 9 extending centrally downwardly from said horizontal slot. Such tear necessarily results from the outward tension applied by the legs to the straddled wall as the latter is conformed to the protruding trough form of thejlegs. The intersecting slot and tear formed in the box as the spout is applied and the resultant tongues 10 are fully concealed by the outer leg and hence cannot detract from the appearance of the installed spout. The curvature of the prongs 5 and 6 safeguards the legs from digging into the straddled wall as the spout is slid downwardly to its use position, the prong 6 further serving to guide the straddled portion of the box wall into the narrow V-shaped groove formed jointly by the legs.

While the spout has been described as fashioned from sheet metal, it is apparent that it may be formed as a die casting from a suitable plastic or other moldable material. It may serve for dispensing solids or liquids, as soap chips or powder, solid foods, milk, etc. It may be repeatedly used as often as desired, being readily removable from a box when the latter has been emptied. Primary advantages of the device are its simplicity, low cost,

and easy installation or removal.

I claim:

1. A spout attachable to a box formed of cardboard or the like for discharging the box contents, such spout comprising a member formed of sheet material bent to form a pair of legs of materially diiierent length extending in approximately the same direction from their juncture, said legs being similarly bent transversely to said direction to a trough form, the longer leg having at least an approximate V form terminating in a sharp prong adapting it. to pierce a box wall and to be inserted in the box in close interior proximity to said wall with said legs straddling the wall and with the shorter leg seating exteriorly against said wall, the legs having a proximity adjoining their juncture, adapting them to grip said wall a and maintain the applied position of the spout.

2. A spout as set forth in claim 1, the free end portions of said legs being bent to diverge slightly from said wall and thus assure clearance of such end portions from the wall in applying the spout to a box.

3. A spout as set forth in claim 1, the shorter leg being gradually reduced in width in extending from said juncture to the free end of said leg.

4.The method of forming a pouring opening in a box formed of cardboard or the like, comprising forming an elongated substantially horizontal slot in a wall of the box, and tearing such wall downwardly from the midpoint of the slot, outwardly deflecting the tongues formed'at each side of the tear below the slot, and maintaining such outward deflection.

5. The method of forming a pouring opening in a box formed of flexible material including the steps of initially forming an.elongated'substantially horizontal slot in a'wall of'the box, and applying outwardpressure to a portion of the wall adjoining an edge of said slot, and

thereby tearing such portion transversely to the slot, and

outwardly deflecting the tongues formedhat each. side of Y such-tear in conjunction with the slot, and maintaining such deflection.

6. The method of fashioning a pouring spout consisting in first forming an elongated flat blank of sheet material, such blank comprising a pair of elongated legs integrally joined remotely from the blankends and pro-- gressively reduced inrwidth from their juncture substan-- tially to said ends, forming the free ends of said legs with prongs'divergently bent to facilitate applying the spout to a box, then bending the blank at said juncture to estab-rlish the legs in substantial parallelism and in a predeter minedly spaced relation, and then bending both legs at their longitudinal axes to a trough form and thereby nesting one of the legs within the other, whereby a box wall straddled by the legs and pierced by one thereof may be conformed to said trough form'to afford discharge of the box contents, one of said legs being materially longer than the other, the prong of said longer leg serving to pierce such box wall as the spout is applied.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 

